Oh, it turned out to be a crakcerjack of a match! 15 required off the final over bowled by the experienced Woakes. It came down to 7 off 3 with Williamson pulling one over midwicket for a six.

But, Woakes held his nerve in the cauldron of bubbling tensions by bowling a low full toss and the wide yorker as the visitors eked out a thrilling 4-run win. At the other end, Williamson was left high and dry. He anchored the chase superbly to compile an unbeaten 112 but couldn't get the elevation off the final two balls as the tourists eked out a win.

The England camp celebrated. Williamson and co. had a forlorn look on their faces. The good old game of cricket where fortunes swung back and forth wildly before one team grabbed the opportunity.

England now lead 2-1 in the five-match series.

Splendid century

Williamson at the other end, has been serene. The fulcrum of New Zealand's line-up held the innings together and cracked a splendid hundred with a loft over mid off. He raises his hands to acknowledge the crowd. Impressive batting from the captain. Excellent temperament on display. 16 needed off nine balls. Cliffhanger!

Santner out; another nail-biter

Luck seemed to be going New Zealand's way as a couple of edges landed agonisingly close to fielders. However, Santner was run out on the back of Wood getting a fingertip on a drive from Williamson and it knocked over the stumps at the other end, with Santner out of the crease. Unlucky way to get out but England will take it every day of the year. They are back in the hunt. This is turning into another gripping match.

Southee landed a couple of blows before he skewed one to deep backward square leg. I'm chomping my fingernails. 24 off 15!!

New Zealand inch closer

48 balls. 56 runs. It is that man again... Santner who is playing with a calm head on his shoulders. The all-rounder lifted Stokes over mid on to crack a vital boundary in the 41st over. Williamson is anchoring the innings brilliantly from the other end.

Santner, Williamson steady New Zealand

The duo of Santner and Williamson has given New Zealand a bit of breathing space. Williamson, in particular, is playing a classy innings... rotating the strike and cracking the occasional boundary.

Major collapse

Four wickets, six runs. That stat tells New Zealand's batsmen are falling like nine pins. De Grandhomme is the latest one to be dismissed, just lofted one straight to long-on. With Williamson at the other end, I have to say de Grandhomme didn't show the required batting aptitude. Poor from him.

In all this mayhem, Williamson cracked a fine fifty. He has led from the front.

97 for 2 to 98 for 5

More drama, more action! Latham has been dismissed LBW. It was a fullish delivery from Moeen, Latham played down the wrong line and was rapped on the pads. To the naked eye, it looked very, very close but the loud appeal for lbw was turned down.

England rightly took the review and replays suggested it would crash into leg-stump. Moeen, though, couldn't pick up the hat trick. The collapse continued as Nicholls was dismissed via the leg-break. He didn't seem to have much of a clue. The left-handed batsman took the review in an attempt to overturn the LBW decision but to no avail. 97 for 2 to 98 for 5!

Another one down...

Chapman decided to use his feet on numerous occasions. Eventually, Moeen bowled on slightly wide of off and Chapman could only edge it to backward point. It was also well flighted and gripped via the surface. Good piece of bowling. England are back in this game.

Stokes, Rashid magic

England desperately needed some magic. And it was provided by the duo of Stokes and Rashid. Rashid enticed Munro to drive on the up and he could only spoon a catch to Stokes at short cover. Fine catch from the charismatic all-rounder as he dived to his left and pouched it. Stokes is everywhere. Bat, ball and in the field.

Munro and fireworks

The odd top-edge, outside edge and a few pick up shots, Munro took his chances and was rewarded for his bravado. The opener has rocketed to 39 off 45. It has to be said that England haven't bowled with good discipline.

Soft dismissal

Colin Munro tried to be aggressive and cracked a couple of fours off Wood including an edge that rocketed past the slip cordon. However, his batting partner, Guptill, didn't last long as he was dislodged in the third over. Soft dismissal. Woakes with the first wicket.

Meanwhile, Kane Williamson cracked a couple of fours off Wood to reach the milestone of 5000 ODI runs. He is the quickest New Zealand cricketer to reach the milestone.

Competitive total

Lower down the order, Buttler, Woakes and Moeen Ali showcased their pyrotechnics as England ended up with 234 in their quota of 50 overs. If England bowl well, they have a good chance of defending the target. The surface is offering enough variable bounce for the bowlers to make an impact.

For the hosts, Sodhi took three wickets while de Grandhomme went for just 24 runs from his quota of 10.

MASSIVE TURN!

Sodhi bowled a ripper of a leg-break that pitch outside the line of leg-stump and beat Buttler's outside edge. Was it sort of similar to Warne bamboozling Gatting at Old Trafford in 1993? I would think so. Buttler was turned inside out. Rashid won't mind bowling on this track either.

Southee breaks through

The duo of Stokes and Morgan pinched singles and twos with the occasion boundary to stitch a stand of 71 before the latter tried to steer one through third man and was castled by Southee. Just when the pair was looking to up the ante, England lose their captain.

Landmark

Eoin Morgan made his ODI debut way back in 2006 for Ireland versus Scotland. From a talented batsman, he has grown in his role to be the captain of his adopted country - England.

The eye-catching batsman reached 6000 ODI runs during the third ODI versus New Zealand. He also has 11 ODI hundreds to his name so far. Fine achievement indeed.

On a slow track, de Grandhomme bowled stump to stump to tie down the English batsmen. Stokes, the England talisman, could only eke out 6 off his first 30 deliveries! Eventually, Morgan added some impetus by slog sweeping Sodhi for a six.

De Grandhomme has been effective to Stokes and Morgan when he's bowled in the channel outside off-stump. They've only been able to score against him of the few occasions he's strayed a little wider #NZvEngpic.twitter.com/ukcp8p1icV

England continued to slide as Bairstow was castled by Sodhi. Nice piece of bowling from the spinner, as he tossed it up, invited the drive and sneaked past the gap between bat and pad. It was the googly from Sodhi.

Bairstow's struggle at the crease ends. It hasn't been a good tour so far for him.

Root perishes

Unfortunately for England, Root tried one shot too many and perished. He skipped down the track but could only slog it to Sodhi at mid on. He is disappointed as he looked in good nick but has thrown his wicket away. Crucial wicket picked up by de Grandhomme.

Fluffed chance

Joe Root offered a tough chance to Williamson at midwicket who dived to his right but couldn't hold onto it. Maybe he was a tad late to pick it up. Root then reverse lapped and swept Santner to pick up a couple of fours. He is looking good in tricky conditions for batting. Class act.

Discipline and reward

Boult got one to kick off a length and despite Roy taking his bottom hand off the handle, he could only edge it to Guptill at first slip. The ball perhaps took a piece off the surface. Not great signs, I must say.

Good discipline shown by the Kiwi pacers.

Cautious

Barring the occasional pull and drive from Roy, England's openers weren't able to get their side off to a flying start. Southee and Boult have bowled well so far. The pitch is also holding up a tad, making it difficult for batsmen to play on the up.

New Zealand won the toss and not surprisingly opted to bowl. Williamson returned to the side, while Taylor missed out due to an injury. Meanwhile, Mark Wood, the fast bowler, is back in the England set-up.

England put up a clinical show in the second ODI in Bay Oval to seal a six-wicket win and level the series versus New Zealand 1-1. The tourists were exceptional in the field. England would also be pleased with Ben Stokes, their talisman, showing his wares. The all-rounder picked up two wickets, cracked a fifty and also effected a run-out or two to make a huge impact.

New Zealand, on the other hand, would be hoping for the captain Williamson to regain his fitness. To make matters worse, Taylor too is struggling with fitness issues. New Zealand's batting line-up - barring Latham and Taylor - has struggled to make its presence felt and that would worry the think-tank.